Former NFL coach Brian Billick: There is risk with Flynn

Nov. 6, 2013

INDIANAPOLIS - Former NFL coach Brian Billick, now with Fox and NFL Network, praised Packers quarterback Matt Flynn on Saturday, but said the team that signs him will take a risk.
Billick was in the booth for the Packers season finale in which Flynn threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns against the Lions. But he still has just two NFL starts.
“The problem is we’ve been down this road as a league many times,” Billick said. “Players with a limited database – two games. The Cody Carlson’s for those that want to go back. The Rob Johnson’s. Now we’ve had some players whether it be a Matt Hasselbeck, whether it be a Matt Schaub, that have gone on and been pretty good.
“But it’s a roll of the dice because you have a limited amount of data.”
Billick compared it to college evaluations.
“It’s not unlike Cam Newton,” Billick said. “The tough thing for Cam Newton was you had the one year, you had 270-plus throws of which about 20 percent were applicable to the NFL. That’s not a lot of database. Compared to a Andrew Luck, or RG3, they’ve got a lot of throws that extrapolate into this league.
“So, I’m much more comfortable in making that assertion than I was with Cam Newton.”
Flynn has been one of the most talked about players at the NFL Combine this week. Rumors have him joining former Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin in Miami. People have tried to gauge the interest of a handful of other teams in need or a quarterback. The Packers could still hit him with the franchise tag and then try to move him.
“You like what you see in a Matt Flynn,” Billick said. “Does it extrapolate? What happens on the entire season? We’re going to see all of Matt Flynn in 16 games.
“Yeah, you’re going to have to pay for that. But what you have to pay versus the risk on a draft choice and some of the other options, probably a pretty good risk. But it is a risk. Pay your money and take your chances.”